Plant MicroRNA Potential in Targeting Sars-CoV-2 Genome Offering Efficient Antiviral MiRNA-Based Therapies

Area of Science:

• Virology and Molecular Biology
• Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
• Plant Science and Biotechnology

Background:

• Severe acute respiratory coronavirus II (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in 2019, causing a global pandemic.
• Coronaviruses possess large single-stranded positive-sense RNA genomes, making them targets for therapeutic intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To bioinformatically identify plant-derived microRNAs (miRNAs) capable of targeting the SARS-CoV-2 genome.
• To assess the potential antiviral activity of these plant miRNAs within the host cell.

Main Methods:

• Utilized RNAHybrid, RNA22, and STarMir tools for miRNA/target prediction.
• Focused on identifying plant miRNAs that bind to the 3'-untranslated region (UTR) of the SARS-CoV-2 genome.
• Evaluated hybridization energy and GC content of potential miRNA candidates.

Main Results:

• RNAHybrid identified 63 plant miRNAs with hybridization energy <= -25 kcal/mol.
• RNA22 and STarMir pinpointed eight interactions, with pvu-miR159a.2 and sbi-miR5387b showing the most effective binding at the 3'-UTR.
• sbi-miR5387b exhibits higher GC content (71.43%) compared to pvu-miR159a.2 (55%), potentially activating TLR receptors.

Conclusions:

• pvu-miR159a.2 and sbi-miR5387b are potent plant-derived miRNA candidates for targeting SARS-CoV-2 in vitro.
• pvu-miR159a.2 is proposed for further investigation in antiviral miRNA-based therapies due to its potential for safe in vivo application.